IMG stays on as master licensee for multi-host Euro 2020

Soccer - 26 Jul 2018

Author: Simon Ward

IMG, the international sports and entertainment company, has been retained as the master licensee for soccer’s Uefa European Championships for the 2020 event that will be held in cities across the continent.

The exclusive deal announced today also includes Uefa’s
other national team competitions until 2022, and grants IMG the right to develop
a licensing programme comprising a variety of fan, lifestyle, fashion and
leisure products for soccer followers of all ages.

The agreement represents a continuation of the partnership between IMG and Uefa for Euro 2016, hosted
by France, and other national team tournaments between 2014 and 2017.

Euro 2020 marks the 60th anniversary of
the competition, and the event will comprise 24 teams and 51 matches played in
12 cities throughout Europe, ending with the semi-finals and final at Wembley
Stadium in London.

The other tournaments covered by the deal
include the Uefa Women’s Euro 2021, the Uefa European Under-21 Championships in
2019 and 2021, the Uefa Futsal Euro 2022 and the new Uefa Nations League, the
competition replacing international friendlies, which culminates with finals in
2019 and 2021.

IMG, which is now part of Endeavor, formerly
WME-IMG, took over from Warner Bros Consumer Products, the licensing and retail
merchandising unit of the US entertainment giant, which handled the licensing programme
for Euro 2012 staged in Poland and Ukraine, and other national teams
competitions until 2013.

Guy-Laurent Epstein, Uefa’s director of marketing, said: “We look forward to continuing our successful Uefa National Team Football licensing partnership with IMG. This agreement will allow us to continue to benefit from IMG’s extensive global licensing network and enable fans all over the world to be able to have access to a wide range of official Uefa Euro 2020 licensed products.”

Mickael Andréo, vice-president of licensing at IMG, added: “It has been a privilege to collaborate with Uefa for the Uefa Euro 2016 and other national team tournaments over the last three years. With Uefa Euro 2020, we now have a fantastic opportunity to work on a groundbreaking tournament format, which will create a unique platform to take this milestone celebration to more fans than ever before.

“We’re looking forward to selecting and working with partners who
will allow us to maximise our retail presence across Europe as well as beyond
and play a key role in the promotion of the event.”